INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 132, No. 80
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Salary Struggle
Staged Success
Quieting Quinnipiac
Mostly Cloudy HIGH: 41º LOW: 28º
Former associate professor Leslie Weston ’80 loses notenure case against Cornell.
Men’s hockey played No. 1 Quinnipiac to a 2-2 draw on Friday.
Peter and the Starcatcher thrills Ithaca audiences at the Kitchen Theatre Company. | Page 8
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Ballinger’17 Pleads Not Guity to Rape Charges By STEPHANIE YAN
Before the fall | The Psi Upsilon fraternity
Sun Staff Writer
house, located at 2 Forest Park Lane on West Campus, was the site of an alleged sexual assault last Sunday.
Wolfgang Ballinger ’17, president of Cornell’s Psi Upsilon fraternity, is pleading not guilty to charges of attempted sexual assault, according to James Baker, Ballinger’s attorney. “His innocence will be established at the proper time and in the proper place — which is in the courts, not in the media,” Baker said in a statement. Police have charged Ballinger with firstdegree attempted rape, first-degree criminal sexual act and first-degree sexual abuse in connection with an incident which occured at the fraternity last Sunday morning. In a crime alert, the Cornell University Police Deparment said a female student BALLINGER ’17 reported that she was led to a bedroom in the Psi Upsilon fraternity house and sexually assaulted at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday. Investigators identified Ballinger Friday night, with the victim’s assistance, and he turned himself in to CUPD Friday, according to a police statement. See BALLINGER page 4
JASON BEN NATHAN / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Graduate Student Stipends Increase by Two Percent Board of Trustees signs off on raise, cites costs of housing, child care, conference travel By DEVON GILLIAMS Sun Staff Writer
The Cornell University Board of Trustees approved a 2.3 percent increase in stipends for graduate research and teaching assistants in the 2016-17 academic year at its Jan. 29 meeting, according to the University. The newly adjusted stipends will provide $25,152 for teaching and research assistants. The fellowship stipend will range from $25,152 to $28,998, depending on the student’s field of study. The highest amount will be awarded to engineering, physical and life sciences
“The Graduate and Professional and the lowest awarded to arts, humanities and social science majors, according Student Assembly provided valuable perspectives on chalto the Graduate lenges that impact School website. “We have responded to student budgets, The stipend increase follows a col- [graduate student concerns] including child care, affordable housing, laborative effort by and continue to work summer funding and the administration toward solutions.” conference travel,” and the executive Knuth said. “We committee of the Barbara Knuth have responded to graduate professional many of these constudent assembly to determine an appropriate increase based cerns and continue to work toward soluon cost of living adjustments in Ithaca, tions to these challenges.” Graduate student stipends are set according to Barbara Knuth, senior vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. based on a nine-month period, and addi-
tional funding is often provided by various departments, with an emphasis on funding for those students that stay in Ithaca for the summer. These additional summer awards typically range from $5,200 to $8,200, according to the graduate school website. Richard Walroth, grad, president of the Graduate Student Professional Assembly, said that although the stipend increase is generous for a nine-month period, graduate students staying at Cornell over the summer may need additional funding from their respective See STIPEND page 4
Cyber Security Experts Join C.U.Tech
Some like it hot
By MAXWELL DOPSCH Sun Staff Writer
SISI YU / SUN CONTRIBUTOR
Cornellians and Ithacans gather at the 18th Annual Downtown Chili Cook-Off on the Commons Sunday.
Cornell Tech has added four cyber security specialists to its Department of Computer Science, according to the University. The new professors’ collective work “spans data encryption, cryptography, cryptocurrency, machine-learning and Internet of Things privacy and security,” according to a press release. One new addition, Prof. Vitaly Shmatikov, computer science, emphasized that his research in security focuses on approaching problems from
unusual angles. “It is very exciting when I manage to find a fresh approach that lets us see a particular security or privacy problem in a new light,” Shmatikov said. “This includes finding new types of vulnerabilities, but also deeper understanding of what security and privacy should mean in the face of constantly emerging new threats.” Prof. Thomas Ristenpart, computer science, also said his research focuses on the issue of security in the 21st century. “I work on keeping information secure, both when it's being communicated over the
Internet and when it’s being stored,” Ristenpart said. “This involves developing new encryption methods, as the ones we have are very often not as helpful as we'd like, either because of functionality problems, government sabotage or other subtle vulnerabilities.” Despite his achievements in the field, Ristenpart said he was not always on track to become a leading computer scientist. He said his decision to pursue graduate school was partially motivated by a passion much less academic than cryptograSee CORNELL TECH page 4